Re: Feature request: client would like to donate X thousand dollars for development of features Y and Z.

PgSQL, Inc just recently announced that they were working on this ... I
haven't heard of anyone else, but that doesn't mean nobody else is ... 


On Mon, 18 Sep 2000, Dan Browning wrote:

> I'm developing a db-driven web site for a client.
> So far the solution happens to use a lot of open sources software (best tool
> for the job).
> 
> But when looking at areas of high-availability and performance in relation
> to our database back-end, I'm trying to find a solution that will fit the
> clients need (say, 4 "nines" of reliability or so).  The application the db
> server is running is mostly SELECTs, but a fair share of inserts
> (interchange e-commerce is the application).  The open source
> performance/reliability solution I came up with:
> 
>     - master database server (high end box) is read/write.
>     - primary slave database server (high end box) is read-only, and gets it's
> data by means of replication from master database server.  This box is
> specially marked to take over for the master in the event that the master
> fails (hot failover).
>     - many slave database servers (low end boxes) are read-only.  These get
> their data from the primary slave database server, instead of the master
> database server, so that the master only has to replicate once (and then,
> only to one machine: the primary slave db server).
> 
> What do you guys think of my solution?  It's more complicated than Oracle's
> parallel clustering, etc.  But Oracle costs $30,000 (for our install,
> anyway).  So I would like to implement the above on open source software.
> 
> But, I've read that postgresql replication code is not yet in "usable"
> status.  MySQL on the other hand claims their replication has "alpha" code
> quality, but that many customers use it successfully on a day-to-day basis
> (that was the feeling I got, anyway).  And neither pgsql or mysql have
> claimed any hot failover abilities.  So my questions are twofold:
> 
> 1)    What is the status of the features I described?  (replication, seamless
> failover).
> 
> 2)    My client is able to "donate" several thousand dollars to the development
> of said features (heck, I might kick in a few bucks).  What are our options
> for this?  Anyone willing to step up to the plate and say, "yes, I'll do it
> on a contract for 10k!".  Or is there already an established way of getting
> X feature for Y dollars?
> 
> 3)    Or, should I just bite the bullet and use Mysql?  (minus foreign keys,
> minus transactions, minus ....)
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dan Browning
> Network & Database Administrator
> Cyclone Computer Systems
> 

Marc G. Fournier                   ICQ#7615664               IRC Nick: Scrappy
Systems Administrator @ hub.org 
primary: scrappy@hub.org           secondary: scrappy@{freebsd|postgresql}.org